Pages

Friday, 22 August 2014

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

I liked but didn't love this book, although that might be because I
found the last third of it less compelling than the first
two-thirds. The Red Tent is an imagining of the story of Dinah, sister
of Joseph, who is only mentioned briefly in the Old Testament. It has
been adopted by the women's spirituality movement, for the community of
women that is shown in the book, and their separate religious practices
and beliefs.

It was the part of the story that discussed Dinah,
her mothers, and the community that formed around them that I found the
most interesting part of the book. Her four mothers are all engaging,
well-drawn characters that form the foundation of the book. None of the
female characters are simple, all are complex, with different faults and
virtues. This envisioning of a women's community that interacts only
tangentially with that of the men is an interesting one. I don't know
enough about the history of this time period to speak to the historicity
of that idea.

(Although I do know that the belief that held sway
in women's history for a long time about completely separate men's and
women's cultures in the 19th century that only interacted slightly and
with great difficulty is far too simplistic.)

But I don't demand
forensic accuracy. I am more interested in what Diamant does with the
story, how she tells this story of how women negotiate power and
relationships amongst themselves, and how they interact with the men
they may love, but rarely have substantial contact with, other than
serving them. And by far and large, it's well done.

Once the
scene shifts to Egypt, and Dinah is bereft of this women's community, I
found it less interesting. I understand, I think, what the author is
trying to do, but since I was always more interested in Dinah's mothers
than in Dinah herself, Dinah trying to find a place for herself outside
of that community didn't hold my attention the same way.